The word teriyaki combines two Japanese words: teri, meaning luster, and yaki, meaning grill or broil. Though technically a cooking style, teriyaki in the United States generally refers to the associated sauce, which adds an amber-colored gloss and salty-sweet flavor to grilled meats and vegetables.
Fast Facts
- Place of Origin: Japan
- Main Ingredients: Soy sauce and sake or mirin
- Most Common Use: As a marinade or glaze for meat, poultry, fish, and vegetables
Teriyaki Sauce Uses
Teriyaki sauce is most often used as a marinade or a glaze for meats and fish. It's best known for its combination with grilled chicken, but it also works in the oven or broiler, in a skillet on the stovetop, in a slow cooker, and in a wok for stir-frying. You can also drizzle it on the plate just before serving or put it on the table for use as a dipping sauce, for example, with potstickers or kabobs. It makes a great addition to the ground beef in a burger and can be used in place of barbecue sauce on ribs.
How to Cook With Teriyaki Sauce
You can buy bottled teriyaki sauce at the grocery store or make an authentic version at home with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. The high sugar content means teriyaki sauce burns easily, so brush it on during the last few minutes of direct high-heat cooking such as on the grill or in the broiler. If you marinate meat in teriyaki sauce before you start cooking, drain or wipe off the excess before you put it on the grill or in the oven.
Teriyaki sauce can handle high heat during a quick turn in a wok, where it becomes thick and sticky and coats the meat and vegetables with flavor. It's also OK to apply teriyaki sauce to chicken, fish, or vegetables before you bake a dish because the sustained lower heat works to caramelize the sauce. Serve teriyaki dishes with rice or bread to soak up the extra sauce.
What Does It Taste Like?
A sweet and tangy sticky sauce, authentic teriyaki delivers a big hit of salty umami from its simple base of soy sauce and mirin, a low-alcohol, sweeter version of sake, a traditional Japanese rice wine. Less traditional teriyaki recipes often include flavors such as garlic, ginger, citrus, and sesame.
Teriyaki Sauce Recipes
You can add teriyaki flavor to just about any protein or vegetable, including tofu and tempeh. Japanese chefs commonly cook fish and other seafood with a teriyaki glaze, and teriyaki chicken is a menu mainstay in Japanese restaurants, both in the United States and in Japan.
Where to Buy Teriyaki Sauce
You can purchase bottled teriyaki sauce at nearly any grocery store or online. Specialty Asian markets may carry imported brands with a more authentic ingredient list, but you can easily make a traditional teriyaki sauce at home with just a few commonly available ingredients.
Storage
Store open bottles of teriyaki sauce in the refrigerator for up to a year. You can safely keep them in the pantry too, but you should use them within six months. Unopened bottles will be good in the pantry for up to three years. Homemade teriyaki sauce should be refrigerated and used much more quickly, within a few days, or frozen for longer storage.
FAQs
Teriyaki refers to a style of Japanese cuisine that includes cooking proteins and vegetables in a thick, sweet, and savory sauce. The word loosely translates to "glossy broil" and is synonymous with a bold, tangy flavor that is beloved the world over.
What does Japanese teriyaki sauce taste like? ›
The main things that you'll taste when eating anything that's been glazed in teriyaki sauce is sweetness, tanginess and stickiness. You'll also get a big whack of salt and umami flavouring from the soy, which is why it works so well to amp up light fish or veg and bring out the umami flavours in red meat.
What is teriyaki sauce made of? ›
What is teriyaki sauce made of? Teriyaki sauce is made from a combination of soy sauce, sugar, mirin, ginger, and garlic. Some recipes add red chili flakes for spice, cornstarch for thickness, or honey as a finishing sweetener.
What is the #1 soy sauce in Japan? ›
Typical Japanese households stock just 1 or 2 types of soy sauce, unless they are really into cooking. The most widely used type by far is koikuchi (濃い口）soy sauce. Koikuchi literally means 'dark mouth'.
What is the best way to use teriyaki sauce? ›
Teriyaki sauce is usually added to the meat (or meat substitute) while it's being cooked on a grill or a wok. It's also often used as a dipping sauce or condiment for pork tenderloin, chicken thighs, chicken breasts, flank steak, or, of course, your meat substitutes of choice.
Why is teriyaki so popular in Japan? ›
Cultural Significance of Teriyaki
In Japan, teriyaki is often associated with outdoor grilling, bringing people together for social gatherings and festivals. Its simplicity and delicious taste have made it a staple in Japanese bento boxes and family meals.
Is Japanese teriyaki sweet? ›
Teriyaki sauce has a complex flavour; a mixture of sweet and savoury, tangy and salty. The sweetness comes from the sweet wine and the caramelisation of the sugar, honey or syrup, which also gives the sauce its shiny glaze.
Can you eat teriyaki sauce without cooking it? ›
Teriyaki is meant to be a cooking sauce, not a table sauce, but it's perfectly safe to use as a dip or a condiment.
Is Japanese teriyaki spicy? ›
The sauce used for teriyaki is generally sweet, although it can also be spicy. Grilling meat first and pouring the sauce on afterwards or using sweet sauce as a marinade are other non-traditional methods of cooking teriyaki. Teriyaki sauce is sometimes put on chicken wings or used as a dipping sauce.
How to make teriyaki sauce taste better? ›
Brown sugar in place of white granulated sugar.
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch.
- 1 Tablespoon cold water.
- 1/2 Cup sugar. (Brown sugar can add a depth to the flavor too.)
- 1/2 Cup low sodium soy sauce.
- (1/2 teaspoon of MSG)
- 1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.
- 1 garlic clove, minced.
The USDA agrees, stating that shelf-stable soy sauce and teriyaki sauce are safe when stored at room temperature after opening and that quality, not safety, is why these products suggest refrigeration after opening.
What's the difference between teriyaki marinade and teriyaki sauce? ›
The main difference is that marinades are used to flavor food before cooking while a sauce is added during the cooking process or after the dish has been cooked. One important thing: don't use premade marinade that's been used to marinate meat, poultry, or fish.
Is Kikkoman Chinese or Japanese? ›
Kikkoman Corporation (キッコーマン株式会社, Kikkōman Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese food manufacturer.
What brand of soy sauce do Japanese restaurants use? ›
Koikuchi shoyu is the most commonly used soy sauce in the Japanese kitchen, and it's likely what you think of when you think of soy sauce. Most major supermarket brands available in the US, like Kikkoman's All-Purpose Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce, don't indicate a type on the label, but they are koikuchi shoyu.
Why do Japanese eat so much soy sauce? ›
Health Benefits Despite the high sodium content, it is said that soy sauce helps digestion and helps lower cholesterol. Some believe that it is different than other high-salt foods with respect to blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Dishes: As a seasoning or condiment, it puts the “Japanese” in Japanese food.
Is Japanese BBQ the same as teriyaki? ›
Is Japanese Barbecue Sauce The Same As Teriyaki? While both Japanese BBQ sauce and teriyaki sauce share some similarities, they are not the same. Teriyaki sauce is a sweet and savory sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sometimes sake or rice vinegar.
Is teriyaki healthy? ›
Is Teriyaki sauce healthy? A. While the low amount of calories in teriyaki sauce makes it healthy, the presence of sodium in the sauce in abundance makes it unhealthy. Therefore, the amount of sauce consumed daily determines whether the sauce will prove to be beneficial or not.
